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Optimizing Brain Fitness

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How will I know they have received my eGift?

When the recipient clicks on their email and redeems their eGift, you will automatically receive an email notification.

I don’t want to send downloads. How do I gift DVDs or CDs?

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Oops! The recipient already owns the course I gifted. What now?

Great minds think alike! We can exchange the eGifted course for another course of equal value. Please call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Can I select a date in the future to send my eGift?

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When purchasing a gift for someone, why do I have to create an account?

This is done for two reasons. One is so you can track the purchase of the order in your ‘order history’ section as well as being able to let our customer service team track your purchase and the person who received it if the need arises.

Can I return or Exchange a gift after I purchase it?

Because the gift is sent immediately, it cannot be returned or exchanged by the person giving the gift. The recipient can exchange the gift for another course of equal or lesser value, or pay the difference on a more expensive item

Frequently Asked Questions

With an eGift, you can instantly send a Great Course to a friend or loved one via email. It's simple:
1. Find the course you would like to eGift.
2. Under "Choose a Format", click on Video Download or Audio Download.
3. Click 'Send e-Gift'
4. Fill out the details on the next page. You will need to the email address of your friend or family member.
5. Proceed with the checkout process as usual.

Q: Why do I need to specify the email of the recipient?

A:
We will send that person an email to notify them of your gift. If they are already a customer, they will be able to add the gift to their My Digital Library and mobile apps. If they are not yet a customer, we will help them set up a new account so they can enjoy their course in their My Digital Library or via our free mobile apps.

Q: How will my friend or family member know they have a gift?

A:
They will receive an email from The Great Courses notifying them of your eGift. The email will direct them to TheGreatCourses.com. If they are already a customer, they will be able to add the gift to their My Digital Library and mobile apps. If they are not yet a customer, we will help them set up a new account so they can enjoy their course in their My Digital Library or via our free mobile apps.

Q: What if my friend or family member does not receive the email?

A:
If the email notification is missing, first check your Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, it may have mistakenly been flagged as spam. If it is not found, please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: How will I know they have received my eGift?

A:
When the recipient clicks on their email and redeems their eGift, you will automatically receive an email notification.

Q: What if I do not receive the notification that the eGift has been redeemed?

A:
If the email notification is missing, first check your Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, it may have mistakenly been flagged as spam. If it is not found, please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: I don't want to send downloads. How do I gift DVDs or CDs?

A:
eGifting only covers digital products. To purchase a DVD or CD version of a course and mail it to a friend, please call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: Oops! The recipient already owns the course I gifted. What now?

A:
Great minds think alike! We can exchange the eGifted course for another course of equal value. Please call customer service at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance.

Q: Can I update or change my email address?

A:
Yes, you can. Go to My Account to change your email address.

Q: Can I select a date in the future to send my eGift?

A:
Sorry, this feature is not available yet. We are working on adding it in the future.

Q: What if the email associated with eGift is not for my regular Great Course account?

A:
Please please email customer service at (customerservice@thegreatcourses.com) or call our customer service team at 1-800-832-2412 for assistance. They have the ability to update the email address so you can put in your correct account.

Q: When purchasing a gift for someone, why do I have to create an account?

A:
This is done for two reasons. One is so you can track the purchase of the order in your ‘order history’ section as well as being able to let our customer service team track your purchase and the person who received it if the need arises.

Q: Can I return or Exchange a gift after I purchase it?

A:
Because the gift is sent immediately, it cannot be returned or exchanged by the person giving the gift. The recipient can exchange the gift for another course of equal or lesser value, or pay the difference on a more expensive item

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What are priority codes?

Priority Codes are on the back of the catalog, mail promotion, or within an advertisement. To ensure that the pricing on the website is the same as what is in your catalog or advertisement, please enter the priority code provided.

Course Overview

With its up to 500 trillion synaptic connections, your brain is easily the most powerful machine in the world. These connections are what create your thoughts, what drive your emotions, and what control your behaviors. Even more incredibly: This amazing machine is constantly changing through a process known as brain plasticity. And you can take advantage of this process to improve and enhance your brain's jaw-dropping powers—at any age.

Brain plasticity, the secret to optimizing your brain's fitness, is one of the most revolutionary discoveries in modern neuroscience. While it was traditionally thought that our brains were fully formed by adulthood, the truth is that our life experiences continually shape and mold our brains in fascinating ways. In fact, optimal brain fitness is the gateway to improvement in a range of areas, including

memory;

attention and focus;

learning and creativity; and

sensory acuity and fine motor skills.

Now, discover the secrets to increasing and expanding your brain's power to meet everyday challenges and enhance the quality of your life with Optimizing Brain Fitness, an engaging 12-lecture course that shows you how to take advantage of the basic principles of brain operation and build the brain you want to live with for the rest of your life. Delivered by Dr. Richard Restak, an award-winning teacher, practicing neurologist, and professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, these lectures are packed with vital information and research-based exercises you can perform every day to tap into your hidden mental potential.

Explore Your Brain's Most Important Functions

Optimizing Brain Fitness centers on the idea that your brain is a continual work in progress, one whose development depends on the best possible use of your brain's most important everyday functions. You explore many functions in these lectures, with a strong focus on three.

Attention: Optimal attention skills open the door to top-notch performance in math, reading, and auditory and visual memory. They provide you with the basis for learning what to focus on and what to ignore, and they also coordinate the brain networks that involve sensation, movement, emotions, and thought.

General memory: General memory facilitates the formation, activation, and retention of neurological circuits that contribute to your brain's optimal functioning. Memory is the veritable bedrock of superior brain health and serves as the basis of your personal identity.

Working memory: Working memory is linked with your IQ and is the first brain function to decline as you age. It is central to your ability to manipulate stored information and can easily be improved by practicing a series of simple exercises.

You'll also spend time delving into the neurology of motor skills, visual-spatial thinking, creativity, and more.

Engage in a Wealth of Delightful Exercises

Professor Restak proves that exercising your brain doesn't have to be a burden or a chore. Rather, it can be an exciting and eye-opening way to explore how the brain works and to discover your own brain's potential.

Dr. Restak has designed Optimizing Brain Fitness with a wealth of exercises, challenges, practice problems, and tests that will enhance and improve your brain's essential functions. Here is just a small sample of the enjoyable ways that you can improve your brain.

In one minute, name as many animals as you can without repeating them. You'll have to use your working memory to mentally eliminate animals you've already named. A desirable score is between 17 and 20 animals.

Close your eyes and envision the room around you, and then open them and check for accuracy. Repeat this memory-recall exercise and pay closer attention to smaller details, such as the number of magazines on a table.

Take a number of spices at random and set them on a table; then close your eyes and try to identify each of them by smell alone. Take this same approach by identifying spices in a meal that you're eating. Both exercises are great ways to sharpen your senses of smell and taste.

Winner of Georgetown University Medical School's Linacre Medal for Humanity and Medicine, Professor Restak is an accomplished neurologist, prolific author, frequent public lecturer for prestigious institutions, and—above all—a champion of brain fitness. Rooted in the startling new findings emerging from groundbreaking experiments and detailed research studies, his course is the perfect way to maintain or improve the health of the most important organ in your body.

Insightful, instructive, and undeniably fun, Optimizing Brain Fitness is an invaluable part of your personal tool kit for lasting health and wellness.

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12 lectures

| Average 29 minutes each

1

How Your Brain Works

In order to best optimize your brain fitness, it's important to understand how the brain's circuitry works. After a brief introduction to the course, Professor Restak guides you through a range of intriguing topics, including the principles of brain operation, the organization of the brain, patterns of brain growth, and more. x

2

How Your Brain Changes

Your brain and your intelligence can change throughout your life span. Here, look closer at the way changes in your brain can improve the way you function in your day-to-day life. Also, explore how a series of visual, sensory, and spatial exercises demonstrate the powerful effects of brain plasticity. x

3

Care and Feeding of the Brain

You can optimize your brain function by paying attention to three key habits: what you eat, how well you sleep, and how much you exercise. Ponder the science behind this three-pronged approach to caring for your brain, and come away with helpful tips you can apply to your own lifestyle. x

4

Creativity and the Playful Brain

What's the connection between daydreaming and creativity? What are four steps for increasing your creativity? Which puzzles are the best for optimizing your brain function—and how can you more efficiently solve them? Learn the answers to these and other questions in this fascinating lecture on creativity and the brain. x

5

Focusing Your Attention

The basis of improving your memory: focusing your attention. Here, explore a range of topics, including the physiological effects of attention on your brain; the dangers of inattention; the benefits of enhanced attention; multitasking; exercises to improve your sustained attention, divided attention, and processing speed; and much more. x

6

Enhancing Your Memory

In the first of three lectures devoted to memory, Dr. Restak proves just how essential memory is to your brain's optimal functioning. After surveying the details of memory and its roots in the hippocampus, learn ways to sharpen your sense memory and augment both your short-term and long-term general memory. x

7

Exercising Your Working Memory

Focus now on working memory—the most important memory process of all and one that involves manipulating stored information. After an overview of the topic, dive into a series of engaging exercises that use your creativity, your powers of observation, and your heightened awareness to enhance and improve your working memory. x

8

Putting Your Senses to Work

Imaginative memory techniques—such as mnemonic devices and personal associations—have been used to improve memory for over 1,000 years. Try your hand at some of them right here, including "chunking" numbers to aid in number recall, creating a vivid story to memorize words, drawing free-form designs, and playing mental chess. x

9

Enlisting Your Emotional Memory

Turn now to an aspect of memory we don't usually consider when thinking about the subject: emotional memory. How did scientists uncover this specific aspect of memory? How does it actually work? And what kinds of playful exercises can you perform to help you relive the emotional experience of your past? x

10

Practicing for Peak Performance

Exceptional performers aren't born with "superior brains." Rather, anyone—thanks to brain plasticity—can achieve high performance levels in an area of interest through deliberate practice. Focus here on two aspects of deliberate practice: remaining fully aware of what you're doing, and concentrating on the most difficult aspects of your performance. x

11

Taking Advantage of Technology

Take a closer look at the impact of modern technology on how our brains function. You'll explore the positive and negative effects of electronic journals, personal computers, and more—with a lengthy discussion on the impact of one of today's most powerful and controversial influences on brain function: video games. x

12

Building Your Cognitive Reserve

Professor Restak concludes his course with ways to immediately start optimizing your brain fitness. These include trying new and unexpected things, learning in an informal and self-directed manner, keeping things in perspective, opting to prioritize instead of multitask, developing an appreciation for art and music, and—surprisingly—preparing home-cooked meals. x

Lecture Titles

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What's Included

What Does Each Format Include?

Instant Video Includes:

Download 12 video lectures to your computer or mobile app

Downloadable PDF of the course guidebook

FREE video streaming of the course from our website and mobile apps

DVD Includes:

12 lectures on 2 DVDs

72-page printed course guidebook

Downloadable PDF of the course guidebook

FREE video streaming of the course from our website and mobile apps

What Does The Course Guidebook Include?

Course Guidebook Details:

72-page course synopsis

Photos & illustrations

Memory and brain fitness exercises

Suggested readings

Enjoy This Course On-the-Go with Our Mobile Apps!*

iPhone + iPad

Android Devices

Kindle Fire Tablet + Firephone

*Courses can be streamed from anywhere you
have an internet connection. Standard carrier data rates may apply in areas that do not have wifi connections
pursuant to your carrier contract.

Your professor

About Your Professor

Richard Restak, M.D.

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Dr. Richard Restak is Clinical Professor of Neurology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He earned his M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his postgraduate training and residency at St. Vincent's Hospital, Georgetown University Hospital, and The George Washington University Hospital. Professor Restak also maintains an active private practice in neurology...

Reviews

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Skids87 from
This is an excellent product and has really been helpful so far. I have only just begun to take advantage of it, and keenly look forward to the rest of the way.

Date published: 2019-08-29

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Nica from
Optimizing Brain FunctionThe speaker had lectures well organized and understandable. Delivery was clear and cadence was not too fast or too slow. He delivered on what practical things I can do everyday to preserve and improve my brain function.

Date published: 2019-07-27

Rated 4 out of
5 by
cmic41 from
Optimiziung Brain FitnessThe course material was very interesting and close to meeting my expectations. However, the presentation was quite dry and during some lectures, almost too difficult to stay awake. My belief is that there are many opportunities to make the presentation of materials more interesting and fun. Lecture left me wanting.

Date published: 2019-02-05

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jim r 32 from
What a vast amount of infoI've just started using it but I can see what a vast amount of knowledge

Date published: 2018-10-31

Rated 4 out of
5 by
KinGA from
Just getting startedHave viewed first 5 of the 12 lectures and so far are very pleased. Will know better after viewing all.

Date published: 2018-10-24

Rated 1 out of
5 by
dragonfish from
ElementaryThe course was far too elementary and I learned nothing. I was looking to expand my knowledge and was excited by many of the course topics. However, what I received may educate a 6th grader but not an adult.
Additionally, the presenting could use practice orating. Voice cadence was too slow; pitch too monotonous. A more lively and engaging speaker is a must. I am not suggesting a different presenter. I greatly enjoyed his warm and friendly manner.
Lastly, the video work felt amateurish. It reminded me of PBS shows in the 70’s. In fact, the whole course reminded me of PBS shows in the 70’s....it was a great idea poorly executed

Date published: 2018-08-21

Rated 3 out of
5 by
Boynton Bill from
Optizing Brain FitnessI was a bit disappointed in the content of this course. I thought it was much too technical in discussing which lobes of the brain controlled which functions. Maybe med students are interested in this, but I doubt many others are. The course said not one word about the effectiveness of taking supplements like Coq-10 to improve brain function. If they are worthless I would like to have heard that. The course discussed using bridge and poker to improve brain functions, but nothing about crossword puzzles or sudoku puzzles. And the content did not discuss the coming evolution in computer technology which will produce computers with more intelligence than the human brain - estimated to be about 8 years. When robots can be built that are smarter than humans, it will be a game changer. Thanks.

Date published: 2018-08-02

Rated 5 out of
5 by
ajkc7 from
Informative & InspirationalThe material of this course, combined with the anecdotes Dr.Restak provides, has inspired me to improve in every area of my life. And, isn't that what learning is all about?